“The last month has been the best of my life. And even if I hurt more than I ever thought possible, I’d do it over and over again. Because itisfucking worth it. I love her more than anything.More than myself,” he snapped. “But it doesn’t matter, because she doesn’t want it.”
Luke’s eyes widened. “Sheleftyou?”
The statement ripped through his chest. Will winced, and all he could do was nod in affirmation.
“Go after her.” Luke frowned. “Don’t be an idiot.”
“No. I can’t chase her.” He shook his head. If going after her would change anything, if telling her he loved her and wanted her more than anything would fix this, he’d do it in a heartbeat. But that wasn’t the issue. “There wasn’t a fight. No misunderstanding. She knows how I feel. But she’s not ready.”
Luke opened his mouth.
“No,” Will growled. “I can’t make her love me. I can’t make her want forever. If a woman tried to tie you down, what would you do?”
Luke slumped in response.
“Right. Chasing her won’t help.” Will shrugged. “If she changes her mind in two weeks, two months, two years.Hell, if she changes her mind ten years from now”—he tossed his hand in the air—“I’ll be waiting with open arms. But it has to be her choice. Don’t butt in.”
Luke smirked.
“I’m fucking serious.”
His brother rolled his eyes.
“For once, maybe you should stop trying to fix other people and take a look in the mirror. You’re over thirty. You don’t have a house or even an apartment. You live out of a fucking suitcase. You’re a mess. Fix you and leave Aly the fuck alone.” Will spun and left Luke in the grass.
CHAPTER26
“Oh my gosh,you two are so cute,” Lily declared, giving her the side-eye and taking a sip of thebreakup bluesdrink she’d thrown together when she showed up an hour ago. The house was staged with a few pieces of uncomfortable furniture, but for lack of a better plan and with nowhere else to go, Aly had come here.
Lily had texted, asking about how her Christmas with cows was going, and Aly had broken down and told her what happened. An hour later, her friend was at her door with a box full of stuff, including ingredients for the breakup drink. Its contents were a mystery, but the drink was fruity and went down easily.
“I swear I swoon—see how he looks at you?”
“Why are we watching this?” Aly kept her attention fixed on the blue bubbles rising from the bottom of the glass rather than on the montage of videos of her and Will on the screen.
“I’m trying to convince you that you’re stupid.” Lily rolled her light blue eyes—the color natural for once. She’d also skipped the makeup, and her hair was twisted into a messy bun on top of her head.
Aly had never seen her look so casual.
“No one is debating that. That’s exactly why he’s better off without me.” Aly slammed her drink onto the coffee table and slumped against the uncomfortable couch pillow with a huff. She missed snuggling with Will on the sectional while they watched whatever Andy had cued up.
“Aww.” Lily scooted over and wrapped her arm around Aly.
Seeking comfort, she dropped her head to Lily’s narrow shoulder. It was bony, and although she was grateful to her friend, it wasn’t the same as when Will held her.
“It’s scary to let someone love you. It can be hard to feel like you’re enough. Like you’re worthy of the care and attention of someone so wonderful. Especially because you’ve spent most of your life taking care of things for everyone else.”
Aly sighed. “That’s not fair. Mom loved me.”
“Yeah, but half the things she should have done fell to you. You shouldn’t have had to remind her of due dates for bills or be the primary homework helper with Andy before you left home. Those are jobs for parents, not children.”
That was true.
“And your mother somehow convinced you that you were her carbon copy. Yes, you inherited her incredible artistic abilities, but Aly, you’ve spun that in your head to mean that if you aren’t doing everything, then you’re not enough.”
Aly jerked away from Lily and pulled her shoulders back as she dug her nails into her palms. “That’s not true.”
The corner of Lily’s mouth lifted sadly. “It is. That’s why you and Logan work so well together. He knows you’ll do all the work while he just smiles and gets paid for it.”